The Race for the Calder Trophy

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

Knies was moved to the top line with Matthews/Marner tonight and had 3 points. If he sticks there he will be a factor.

Eh basically none of the prospects hes going up against are playing along side a top 3 center, and top 5 winger in the league.

Hell be in the scoring race, but unless he outscores everyone by a decent margin i doubt hell win/be a finalist

 

[Deadly Dogma]

IMO its just a matter of 2 more games till Knies is up with Matthews and Marner and playing with those 2 should put Knies somwhere in the top 5 point wise by the end of the season.

yup quoting myself here lol

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Kind of crazy that there are 10 guys within a point of the rookie scoring lead, and that doesn't include the 2nd and 3rd picks in last year's draft, who will likely be there by the end of the season.

This is looking to be one of the deeper rookie classes in recent memory. I don't think the Calder race has ever been this wide open through the first month of play.

yup quoting myself here lol

Certainly not surprising considering how talented Knies is, he's a perfect complement for those two. If he sticks with them, he's gonna score 20+ goals and 50+ points.

 

[ViD]

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

Based on performance… faber 23 lol

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Carlsson at 15 is a big lol.

Lacombe is also a pretty glaring omission. He's playing over 20 mins a night, a full minute more than Mintyukov

Based on performance… faber 23 lol

What a joke. If we are basing this on this year's performance, Mintyukov is the only player who has an argument over Faber. Faber is already a top pairing defenseman, averaging 23:38 TOI, a full 3:20 more than the next rookie.

He also leads all rookies at +7 and is 3rd among rookie dmen in scoring (with all his points at ES), and 8th among all rookies with 5 ES points. Like, how on earth are guys like Hofer, Levi, and Korczak ahead of him? Hofer has played 3 games, Levi has a 0.885 sv%, and Korczak is playing 8 less minutes per game, and isn't even an NHL regular yet.

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

Carlsson at 15 is a big lol.

Lacombe is also a pretty glaring omission. He's playing over 20 mins a night, a full minute more than Mintyukov


What a joke. If we are basing this on this year's performance, Mintyukov is the only player who has an argument over Faber. Faber is already a top pairing defenseman, averaging 23:38 TOI, a full 3:20 more than the next rookie.

He also leads all rookies at +7 and is 3rd among rookie dmen in scoring (with all his points at ES), and 8th among all rookies with 5 ES points. Like, how on earth are guys like Hofer, Levi, and Korczak ahead of him? Hofer has played 3 games, Levi has a 0.885 sv%, and Korczak is playing 8 less minutes per game, and isn't even an NHL regular yet.

I didnt even realize Lacombe didnt make the cut, i was so stuck on faber not in top 10.
Im shocked they even had Mintyukov 1

 

[LemonSauceD]

I think either Hughes or Mintyukov wins the Calder

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

I wish the NHL highlight team had a clue about what plays are actually notable and that clean denials are a lot more impactful than a shot from range by a 4th liner. Faber does something nearly every shift that leaves me impressed, I don’t care about the accolades but it sure would be nice to be able to watch these over and over again and share with others.

I haven’t seen a guy with this kind of moxie in a long long time, he seems to be a step ahead mentally than even the top offensive guys. Even when he gets physically outmatched through speed, he just casually denies everything with perfect stick checks at just the right moment.

The Wild don’t exactly have the mass appeal league wide, but for anyone interested in seeing a next wave two way defenseman with hockey IQ up the wazoo, he is worth checking out for sure.

 

[MS]

Brock Faber should be the runaway Calder favourite right now but voters are stupid and think that getting 50 points as a defensively iffy 2nd line winger is more impressive than scoring 30 points while killing 24 minutes/game as a top-pairing defender. Like, no hockey fan alive thinks that Jake Debrusk > Jaccob Slavin but when it comes to Calder voting that's the kind of logic that seems to infect peoples' brains.

As a Canucks fan, I'm still grumpy about Sergei Samsonov winning over Mattias Ohlund in 1998 in one of the stupidest award votes in NHL history.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Brock Faber should be the runaway Calder favourite right now but voters are stupid and think that getting 50 points as a defensively iffy 2nd line winger is more impressive than scoring 30 points while killing 24 minutes/game as a top-pairing defender. Like, no hockey fan alive thinks that Jake Debrusk > Jaccob Slavin but when it comes to Calder voting that's the kind of logic that seems to infect peoples' brains.

As a Canucks fan, I'm still grumpy about Sergei Samsonov winning over Mattias Ohlund in 1998 in one of the stupidest award votes in NHL history.

I don’t think you can say anyone is a runaway with this much season left, and there are a bunch of guys playing really well. 23rd is definitely inexcusable though.

 

[Wasted Talent]

Brock Faber should be the runaway Calder favourite right now but voters are stupid and think that getting 50 points as a defensively iffy 2nd line winger is more impressive than scoring 30 points while killing 24 minutes/game as a top-pairing defender. Like, no hockey fan alive thinks that Jake Debrusk > Jaccob Slavin but when it comes to Calder voting that's the kind of logic that seems to infect peoples' brains.

As a Canucks fan, I'm still grumpy about Sergei Samsonov winning over Mattias Ohlund in 1998 in one of the stupidest award votes in NHL history.

It's nothing new. Faber's linemate Brodin was in a similar situation playing 23+ minutes minutes per game and looking like he belongs back in 2012-13. Eventually he was only 4th in Calder voting behind 3 forwards playing at roughly ~50 point pace (Huberdeau/Gallagher/Saad)

 

[MS]

I don’t think you can say anyone is a runaway with this much season left, and there are a bunch of guys playing really well. 23rd is definitely inexcusable though.

It might change, but right now the guy who is killing it in 24 minutes/game as a top-pairing defender should be considered miles ahead of the gaggle of forwards with 7 or 8 points in soft minutes.

 

[HanSolo]

As a VGK and Ducks fan it is c-r-a-z-y that that list has Korzcak over Lacombe. Kaeden has been a nice surprise on a good team but Lacombe is better for sure.

 

[57special]

As a VGK and Ducks fan it is c-r-a-z-y that that list has Korzcak over Lacombe. Kaeden has been a nice surprise on a good team but Lacombe is better for sure.

3 players from the Gophers D corp from last year are making an impact in the NHL now that Ryan Johnson has come up and played significant minutes(though it's still early) for the Sabres. Can't wait to see Lacombe. It was a long raod for him. He always had the physical talent, but it took him a long time to get his decision making right. Faber always had it. RJ was somewhere in between the two.

 

[HanSolo]

3 players from the Gophers D corp from last year are making an impact in the NHL now that Ryan Johnson has come up and played significant minutes(though it's still early) for the Sabres. Can't wait to see Lacombe. It was a long raod for him. He always had the physical talent, but it took him a long time to get his decision making right. Faber always had it. RJ was somewhere in between the two.

Unfortunately I don't think Lacombe has the best mentor right now. Fowler, when he's on his game, would be a solid mentor to learn by osmosis but this season Cam has been an adventure in his own zone and while Lacombe has some games/shifts were he's making smart decisions he's had plenty of weak rookie mistakes. Still early days and plenty of room to grow and time to learn though.

 

[CBJx614]

I'll update the list when I get home later tonight.

But I think Voronkov might end up in the top 5-10 at his current pace, although spending so much time in the box will definitely hurt his chances.

 

[57special]

I will say that Rossi and Faber are playing like top 6 and top 3 players, respectively, and that's being conservative. No clue where that gets them in the Calder voting, but Faber is great defensively, and Rossi is good- do the voters even pay attention to that for forwards, though, or just look at offensive stats?

 

[hamzarocks]

There isnt a rookie anywhere close to Bedard this year at least at forward.

None of rossi, brink, knies, protais, cooley are capable of being near ppg on the hawks as the main guy

He is the hawks offense. The dude is Jack Hughes/Auston Matthews/Nathon Mackinnon for his team and his team doesnt have much high end talent to work with.

He runs the PP, runs his lines offense and is creating a lot for a poor team.

He will win the calder this year barring injury

 

[Namikaze Minato]

Eh basically none of the prospects hes going up against are playing along side a top 3 center, and top 5 winger in the league.

Hell be in the scoring race, but unless he outscores everyone by a decent margin i doubt hell win/be a finalist

I dont think voters care about that as much as you would think. Even Bunting was a finalist the other year.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

There isnt a rookie anywhere close to Bedard this year at least at forward.

None of rossi, brink, knies, protais, cooley are capable of being near ppg on the hawks as the main guy

He is the hawks offense. The dude is Jack Hughes/Auston Matthews/Nathon Mackinnon for his team and his team doesnt have much high end talent to work with.

He runs the PP, runs his lines offense and is creating a lot for a poor team.

He will win the calder this year barring injury

I disagree with you and you have no way of proving your statement. He is getting fed the puck in all offensive positions possible by his team, it is the Hawks only strategy. Some of the rest of these guys are on teams trying to win hockey games and they are contributing very positively to that.

PPG means nothing in this day and age, efficiency and winning your matchups on both ends of the ice are much more important to team success, Bedard has not yet demonstrated either of those aspects of his game yet, despite the “entertainment” factor.

Edit: I will walk this back slightly, this is the Calder award topic, not the best rookie topic. You are correct and Bedard probably does win with the voters if he hits PPG no matter what else happens on the ice.

 

[clydesdale line]

There isnt a rookie anywhere close to Bedard this year at least at forward.

None of rossi, brink, knies, protais, cooley are capable of being near ppg on the hawks as the main guy

He is the hawks offense. The dude is Jack Hughes/Auston Matthews/Nathon Mackinnon for his team and his team doesnt have much high end talent to work with.

He runs the PP, runs his lines offense and is creating a lot for a poor team.

He will win the calder this year barring injury

Bingo. Great post.

 

[CBJx614]

I disagree with you and you have no way of proving your statement. He is getting fed the puck in all offensive positions possible by his team, it is the Hawks only strategy. Some of the rest of these guys are on teams trying to win hockey games and they are contributing very positively to that.

PPG means nothing in this day and age, efficiency and winning your matchups on both ends of the ice are much more important to team success, Bedard has not yet demonstrated either of those aspects of his game yet, despite the “entertainment” factor.

Edit: I will walk this back slightly, this is the Calder award topic, not the best rookie topic. You are correct and Bedard probably does win with the voters if he hits PPG no matter what else happens on the ice.

This.

 

[ello]

I disagree with you and you have no way of proving your statement. He is getting fed the puck in all offensive positions possible by his team, it is the Hawks only strategy. Some of the rest of these guys are on teams trying to win hockey games and they are contributing very positively to that.

PPG means nothing in this day and age, efficiency and winning your matchups on both ends of the ice are much more important to team success, Bedard has not yet demonstrated either of those aspects of his game yet, despite the “entertainment” factor.

Edit: I will walk this back slightly, this is the Calder award topic, not the best rookie topic. You are correct and Bedard probably does win with the voters if he hits PPG no matter what else happens on the ice

I disagree with you and you have no way of proving your statement. He is getting fed the puck in all offensive positions possible by his team, it is the Hawks only strategy. Some of the rest of these guys are on teams trying to win hockey games and they are contributing very positively to that.

PPG means nothing in this day and age, efficiency and winning your matchups on both ends of the ice are much more important to team success, Bedard has not yet demonstrated either of those aspects of his game yet, despite the “entertainment” factor.

Edit: I will walk this back slightly, this is the Calder award topic, not the best rookie topic. You are correct and Bedard probably does win with the voters if he hits PPG no matter what else happens on the ice.

Bedard plays more yes, but it’s because he IS the offense for Chicago. Teams watch hours of video and game plan their defense/PK revolving solely around shutting down Bedard.

He goes up against literally the best dmen/defensive forwards the NHL has to offer for 20+ minutes a night and is somehow still basically a ppg and on pace for 40+ goals, all while playing with Nick foligno and Kurashev, while being the YOUNGEST player in the NHL.

The kid just put up 4 points while being hard matched on the road against Hedman, Cernak and Cirellli. Hes insanely special and you’d have to be pretty biased to not agree

 

[Fraser28]

I think by the end of the year becomes Bedard v. Carlsson. Bedard takes it.